Posts Tagged: caterpillars
Observing International 'Cat Day
Today (Aug. 8) is International Cat Day, the feline kind. It was created in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare as a day to "raise awareness for cats an learn about ways to help and protect them." But today we're celebrating International...
Monarch caterpillar on milkweed in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A cat, Xena the Warrior Princess looks intently at what was once a 'cat, a monarch caterpillar. All she did was look. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Lawn-pocalypse! Surviving Drought
Ah, summer! The season of sunburns, pool parties, and… lawn droughts. If your once lush, green carpet now looks like a crunchy brown doormat, you're not alone. Let's dive into why your yard is staging a dramatic death scene and what you can do to...
Bermuda grass and weeds overtaking drought stressed turf grass.
Revisiting the Issue of Monarch Butterflies Missing from California Classrooms
A monarch butterfly caterpillar goes through five stages or instars before it J's and becomes a jade-green chrysalis. Scientists estimate that only 10 percent of the eggs and 'cats survive to adulthood. They don't "survive" at all in...
A monarch caterpillar crawling on a milkweed leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A male monarch butterfly foraging on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifola) in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatle Garvey)
Turning Over an Old Leaf
It's New Year's Day and it's common for folks to turn over a new leaf. What about the old leaves? Sometimes if you turn over an old leaf this time of year in Solano and Yolo counties, you might find a monarch caterpillar. As of today, we have...
UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus Art Shapiro (right) of the Department of Evolution and Ecology and Louie Yang, professor, Department of Entomology and Nematology at the Bohart Museum of Entomology's recent open house on monarchs. (PHoto by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A monarch munching on milkweed on New Year's Day, 2024, in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of a monarch caterpillar munching on milkweed on New Year's Day, 2024, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
'Most Delicious Poison': A Must-Read Book
“A deadly secret lurks within our spice racks, medicine cabinets, backyard gardens, and private stashes,” writes evolutionary biologist Noah Whiteman, author of the newly published book, Most Delicious Poison: the Story of Nature's...
A monarch caterpillar munching on milkweed in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of a monarch munching milkweed in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A newly eclosed male monarch spreads its wings in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)